U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge Final Environmental Impact Statement and Comprehensive Conservation Plan Project Update February 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement and Comprehensive Conservation Plan Released The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized the inte- grated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Com- prehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in . We are grateful to all of the neighbors, non-government organizations, local officials and many interested citizens who contributed to this planning effort over the course of 3 years.

The comprehensive conservation plan outlines how the Refuge will fulfill its legal purpose and contribute to the National Wildlife Refuge System’s wildlife, habitat, and public use goals. The plan articulates management goals for the next 15 years and specifies the objectives and strategies needed to accomplish these goals. While the planned future condition is long term, we anticipate that the plan will be updated every 5 to 10 years based on information gained through monitoring habitat and wildlife, as well as recreational usage.

The Final EIS and CCP are available on the planning website for Driftless Area NWR: of which date from the Ice Age, that require a cold http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/DriftlessArea environment. Specific species that depend on this habitat and which the Refuge works to conserve include the endangered Iowa Pleistocene snail and threatened About the Refuge Northern monkshood. Driftless Area NWR is truly unique. It was established in 1989 to conserve threatened and endangered species that Today the Refuge consists of nine scattered tracts or ‘units’ depend on a rare and fragile habitat type called “algific totaling 781 acres of upland hardwood forest, grassland, talus slopes,” or cold air slopes. These are areas where cold stream, and riparian habitats. underground air seeps onto slopes to provide a constant cold microenvironment. This habitat harbors species, some Driftless Area NWR Final EIS/CCP

du Chien, . A “Manager for a Day” workshop was held in February 2003 in Elkader, Iowa, to develop alternatives to the issues raised by the public and Refuge staff.

The Draft EIS and CCP was released for public review and comment in May 2005. Approximately 156 copies of a summary and 87 copies of the full Draft EIS were mailed based on the distribution list and upon request. A letter inviting comment was also sent along with the summary to 81 landowners who adjoin Refuge lands or who have species listed under the Endangered Species Act occurring on their land. Each Draft EIS summary contained information on how to obtain a copy of the full Draft EIS.

The current management practice is to protect endangered The Service made the Draft EIS available for a 60-day species habitat, restore other habitats to presettlement public review period that began May 18 and ended July 22, vegetation when possible, and control invasive species. 2005. During this review period, four public meetings were Prescribed burning is used in habitat management. Two held in Decorah, Elkader, and Peosta, Iowa and LaFarge, Refuge units are open for hunting, fishing, and wildlife Wisconsin. Thirty-three people attended. In addition to observation and photography. Presentations and tours are recording comments at the public meetings, the Service given as requested and staff time allows. The Refuge is received 12 comment letters or e-mails during the public managed under the Upper National review period. Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes three Refuges. The Refuge office is co-located with the McGregor District Based on the comments that were received, some small of Upper Mississippi River NWFR. One full-time Refuge revisions and improvements were made to the Draft EIS Operations Specialist is assigned to the Refuge. and CCP. The comments that we received and our responses to them are presented in detail in Chapter 7 of the EIS and CCP. The draft and final documents are Who We Are and What We Do essentially the same except for the improvements The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the primary federal suggested by reviewers. We appreciate the time and agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and thought that reviewers contributed throughout the enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the planning process. continuing benefit of the American people. Our specific responsibilities include enforcing federal wildlife laws, managing migratory bird populations, restoring nationally significant fisheries, administering the Endangered Species Act, and restoring wildlife habitat such as wetlands.

The Service’s role also includes managing the National Wildlife Refuge System, a network of more than 540 national wildlife refuges encompassing more than 93 million acres of public land and water. The Planning Process Work on the Driftless Area NWR Draft EIS and CCP began in 2002. One of the first steps in the planning process was to invite public comment on what issues environmental planning should consider. Meetings were held in the fall of 2002 in Dubuque, Elkader, and Lansing, Iowa, and Prairie Project Update / February 2006 Where You Can Find the Final EIS and CCP The Final EIS and CCP is available online at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/DriftlessArea. Copies are also available in libraries in communities surrounding the Refuge. To request a copy, call the Refuge at 563/873- 3423 or write to the Refuge at:

Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge 401 Business Highway 18N P.O. Box 460 McGregor, IA 52157

monkshood and Leedy’s roseroot. To accomplish this, we Next Steps will conserve approximately 2,200 more acres of After the Final EIS and CCP have been available for at endangered species habitat than we did in 2004, either least 30 days, the Regional Director will issue a document through acquiring land from willing sellers or working with called a “Record of Decision.” The Record of Decision will landowners on conservation projects. officially document the choice of the management alternative and resulting CCP. We will then assemble a We will add one biologist position to the Driftless Area stand-alone CCP from the Final EIS and CCP. The stand- NWR staff. We will improve our visitor services facilities by alone CCP will be the working document for the Refuge. It constructing a wildlife observation trail on the Howard will be available for others, as well. Creek unit and developing an interpretive display. We will increase our environmental education efforts. Planned Refuge Program Highlights Background: This endangered species habitat cannot be Refuge Vision restored once it has been lost, and the species are difficult to reintroduce. With this in mind, permanent protection of The Refuge is beautiful, healthy, and supports and habitat is the primary recovery goal for the Iowa conserves native and rare wildlife and plants for Pleistocene snail and Northern monkshood. As well as current and future generations. meeting recovery goals, protection of additional algific slopes or maderate cliffs would meet the Service’s goals of Refuge Goals conserving biological integrity, diversity, and environmental Habitat: Conserve endangered species habitat and health. Refuge land protection will meet key recovery goals contribute to migratory bird and other wildlife habitats for these species and may prevent future listing of other within a larger landscape. land snail and plant species.

Species Management: Manage and protect endangered Permanent conservation of algific talus slopes goes beyond species, other trust species, and species of management protection of the slope itself from physical disturbance. interest based on sound science through identification and New information and threats increase the need for active understanding of algific slope communities and associated management to meet multiple recovery goals for delisting. habitats. Over the next 15 years, the Service will focus limited Refuge resources on taking care of existing Refuge habitats Visitor Services: Visitors understand and appreciate the as well as adding lands for endangered species protection. role of the Refuge in protecting endangered species. As funding permits and as people decide they want to sell Management Direction land, the Service will acquire new Refuge lands. While the Synopsis: Briefly, our intention over the life of the CCP is total approved acquisition area for the Refuge will be 6,000 to meet delisting criteria for the Iowa Pleistocene snail and acres in 22 counties (four states), we expect to acquire 2,275 to contribute to the recovery goals for Northern acres over the 15-year life of the CCP. Expansion into Driftless Area NWR Final EIS/CCP additional counties will allow potential acquisition and understand these unique communities. We will update protection of large populations, populations across the recovery plans for the Iowa Pleistocene snail and Northern species’ ranges, and protection of the majority of monkshood, and we will initiate study of the location and populations. function of sinkholes. We will complete an evaluation of deer populations and their impacts on the Refuge. Habitat: We intend to increase inspection of Refuge units. In addition, the Refuge will share a law enforcement officer Visitor Services: We will construct a wildlife observation with the McGregor District of Upper Mississippi River trail on the Howard Creek unit. Although space is limited, NWFR. We will increase efforts to control invasive species, we will continue to share office and Visitor Center space particularly garlic mustard. We will with the McGregor District. A new continue work to monitor Iowa professionally developed interpretive Pleistocene snail and Northern display will be assembled and we will monkshood populations. To help us increase environmental education make decisions on restoration of efforts. The Refuge will share an adjacent habitat, we will increase interpretive park ranger with efforts to study algific slopes, McGregor District. In an effort to including determining the impacts of better understand visitor use on the shade. We will add one biologist Refuge, we will measure threshold position to the Driftless Area NWR visitor use levels. We will complete a staff. We will complete conservation Visitor Services Plan. site plans for potential acquisition areas. To meet delisting criteria of Into the Future the Iowa Pleistocene snail and to Throughout the planning process, many contribute to recovery goals for people have contributed time and ideas Northern monkshood and Leedy’s to make the Driftless Area NWR EIS roseroot, we will conserve and CCP a better document. We are approximately 2,200 more acres of grateful to everyone who cared enough endangered species habitat than we about the Refuge and its future to did in 2004, either by acquiring land participate in this planning effort. from willing sellers or through partnership efforts. We will conserve To succeed, a refuge management plan 75 acres more than we did in 2004 to has to adapt to nature’s everchanging help preclude listing of glacial relict snail species of conditions. Although the plan is complete, we expect to concern. revise it every 5 to 10 years in response to conditions that Over the next 15 years, 40 acres of grassland will be could not be anticipated in the planning process. We will restored at the Howard Creek Unit. Forty-one acres of continue to welcome your thoughts on Refuge management. forest will be reestablished at the Fern Ridge unit, 7 acres will be restored at the Howard Creek unit, and 68 acres will Driftless Area NWR conserves very rare habitat and, with be restored at the Pine Creek unit. We will develop a it, very rare species of wildlife. We hope that you will management plan for all other forest lands to describe how continue to care about and participate in this conservation forests will provide habitat for migratory birds and other effort. wildlife. As we acquire new land, habitat management plans will be prepared.

Species Management: We will complete surveys for new algific talus slopes and associated species so that we better